Detroit Lions chide Jonathan Vilma for Brian Branch blunder

Jonathan Vilma was on the call for the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears on Fox, when he couldn’t get Deion Branch out of his mind when talking about Brian Branch.

It’s been nearly 13 years since Deion Branch last played a down of NFL football, but you wouldn’t know it by listening to Vilma Sunday afternoon. During the Lions dominant win in which they dropped a 50-burger on former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, whose Bears dropped to 0-2, Vilma kept highlighting the long-retired wide receiver.

The blunder stemmed from the Lions having Brian Branch at safety, but at one point in the first quarter, Vilma praised Deion Branch three times in a one minute span.

“What a shot by Deion Branch!” Vilma said with excitement. “That is a big league hit by Deion Branch…I’m a big fan of Deion Branch, I like the way he’s been playing. He sits in the box, he’s very physical.”

Great for Deion, if he was able to have that kind of impact on an NFL field at the age of 46. But it wasn’t Deion Branch, it was Brian Branch. And as Vilma kept making the same mistake, the Detroit Lions sought to remind everyone of the active player’s name.

🗣️ BRIAN Branch

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) September 14, 2025

Subtle! The Detroit Lions social media team sent the post almost immediately after Vilma said “Deion Branch” three times in one minute. Someone eventually got in Vilma’s ear and reminded him the Lions safety was Brian Branch, because the Fox NFL game analyst did eventually start to say his name.

Brian Branch has no relation to Deion Branch, but Vilma played against the former wide receiver, which might explain why he kept making the mistake. But with it being nearly 13 years since he last took a snap, there were probably some younger Bears and Lions fans who had to Google the name.